AbstractThis paper explores the potential of a newly developed conjugate filter oscillation reduction (CFOR) scheme for shock‐capturing under the influence of natural high‐frequency oscillations. The conjugate low‐ and high‐pass filters are constructed based on the principle of the discrete singular convolution (DSC), a local spectral method. The accuracy and resolution of the DSC basic algorithm are accessed with a one‐dimensional advection equation. Two Euler systems, the advection of an isotropic vortex flow and the interaction of shock–entropy wave are utilized to demonstrate the utility of the CFOR scheme. Computational accuracy and order of approximation are examined and compared with the literature. Some of the best numerical results are obtained for the shock–entropy wave interaction. Numerical experiments indicate that the CFOR scheme is stable, conservative and reliable for the numerical simulation of hyperbolic conservation laws. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.